The Jury's In: Food and Your Mood Are Completely Connected

It's nothing new that food affects how we feel, both emotionally and physically. But now, NPR has published a story to help us navigate exactly how to get a handle on our moods by controlling what we eat.

Firstly, explains David Ludwig, a professor of Pediatrics and Nutrition at Harvard University, we shouldn't turn to those comforting candies or delicious pasta dishes when we're upset. "There can be a bit of a vicious cycle," he says to NPR. These foods can lead to crashes, which in turn increase "our susceptibility to new stresses."

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So now you know what to avoid. But what's good to eat? A researcher at the National Institute of Health believes that fish is the key to the good, or at least stress-free, life. As NPR explains, Joe Hibbeln believes that omega 3 fatty acids (the kind found in salmon and other fish, as well as in those handy fish oil pills your doctor suggested you use at your last physical) can help "[quiet] down the [body's] response to inflammation." In other words, if you're stressed, your body can either help you move on quickly, or drag it's pretty little feet. Even more, he continues, these omega-3s may even help quell "depressive" symptoms.

Another reliable source, Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist at Columbia University, believes that a "stress-busting" breakfast like scrambled eggs with greens and sprinkled with a layer of pumpkin seeds will help pack the nutrients like magnesium (an anti-anxiety tool).

What do you think? Next time you're feeling down, will you turn to the Hostess aisle, or use power-packed nutrients as a weapon in your favor?